In wooded areas, Lyme disease is a threat

In heavily wooded Potomac where tick-carrying deer flourish, some residents know the effects of Lyme disease all too well.

"I'm chasing [deer] out of my yard on a weekly basis," said Potomac resident Hector Livingston, who contracted Lyme disease early this summer. The disease had a severe impact on his health for several weeks, he said, with symptoms including a high temperature, chills, headaches, and exhaustion.

"It was all you could do to get out of bed," Livingston said.

According to the Maryland Community Health Administration, Lyme disease is contracted through the bite of a black-legged tick, or Ixodes scapularis — often carried on hosts including deer. The tiny tick can be smaller than a sesame seed, and are most commonly found from April to October.

Livingston said that deer travel often in groups along his backyard, and three neighbors on the street have recently contracted the disease. Most everyone Livingston has spoken to about the disease in the area has met someone who has contracted it, if they hadn't contracted it themselves, he said.

Livingston's neighbor, Diane Szczepaniak, said her 16-year-old daughter has contracted the disease three times, twice while her family was living in their current home.

"We just couldn't figure out why this young, healthy child was wanting to sleep all the time," Szczepaniak said.

Symptoms like exhaustion can be difficult to pin down, she said, especially because those who contract it don't always display the tell-tale "bulls-eye" rash around the tick bite.

County and state officials use hunting as a primary tool to contain deer populations, according to Robert Beyer, associate director of the Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Heritage Service.

Beyer said that while statewide, the population of deer has leveled off over the past five years — last year it was about 239,000, similar to previous years — in suburban areas like Montgomery County, the population has increased.

"Deer can find a good living in your and my backyard, if they can stay off the road," Beyer said. "One of the best tools we have to keep the deer population in check is hunting … and in suburban and urban areas, access to hunting is certainly more difficult," Beyer said.

Beyer said that a type of birth control for deer may be another option for controlling deer populations in the future. However, its has not yet been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, and administering birth control to a large, free-ranging population would pose challenges, he said.

Livingston and Szczepaniak agree that more control of the deer population is necessary, though they're unsure of the best way to control the spread of Lyme disease.

Livingston said he may start to use a spray on plants in his yard to keep the ticks at bay, but he also said that he's avoiding his yard more often these days.

"I'm kind of scared to go out in my garden," Livingston said. "This summer, I haven't gone out hardly at all."

For tips on how to protect yourself from tick bites and more information about the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease, visit